


Birthday Surprise

by heytheremisssong



Category: Doctor Who RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:25:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2530547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heytheremisssong/pseuds/heytheremisssong
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A party (birthday) with either one showing up as a surprise guest to the other: for MadameMagicHair</p>
            </blockquote>





	Birthday Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Note: It's not overly long, but I didn't want to drag it out longer than it had to be. Hope it's okay!!! xx

'Happy birthday!' Karen squealed, throwing her arms around Matt and kissing his cheek. He forced a smile, hugging her back and squeezing her tight. 'You okay, stupid face?'

'What? Oh, yeah... I'm fine.' He muttered, shaking himself off and giving himself a gentle reminder that he wasn't supposed to miss someone who was never really his. Karen raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed. 'She's not coming.'

'Alex? Is that really a good idea, though?' He shrugged, not wanting to look too hopeful that by some miracle she'll walk through the door. 'You've been seeing Lily, she's supposedly settling down with that guy she met in LA... You gotta move on.'

'Easier said than done, Kaz. And I'm not seeing Lily, apparently. According to her, it's hard to be in a relationship with someone when that someone is clearly in love with someone who doesn't give a shit either way...' She rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the bar. 'Oi, what're you doing?!'

'It's your birthday, and you're not allowed to be all mopey, so drink.' Handing him a shot and picking one up herself, she winked. 'Down the hatch!' The next hour was a blur - friends and family wishing him a happy birthday; more alcohol; checking his phone in the hopes that there would be at least a text from her. 'Gimme.' His head shot up, Karen holding out her hand and glaring at him. 'Give me the phone, idiot.'

'Why?' She snatched it, holding it just out of reach. She froze suddenly, her eyes wide and staring at something behind him. He turned around, following her line of sight until he saw it. The wild curls he would know anywhere. No... God, I must be drunk. Karen shoved his phone back into his hand, patting his shoulder and grinning.

'Go get her, tiger.' She wandered off, leaving him standing in the middle of the bar, eyes fixed on the woman across the room, smiling brightly as she greeted those who approached her. He was frozen, heart thudding wildly in his chest. She's really here... Actually really here. Slowly - agonisingly so - she made her way towards him, not making eye contact, even when she stood right in front of him.

'Happy birthday, darling.' She whispered, biting her lip nervously. He blinked a few times, not sure how to respond. 'Sorry it's been a while.' He squeezed his eyes shut, confused. 'Matt?'

'A while? Alex, it's been almost a year.' He stammered out, reaching out to brush her fingers softly. 'I know we uh... We didn't work out as, y'know...' His voice trailed off as her fingers curled around his, squeezing gently.

'Can we talk? Somewhere a bit quieter than here?' Her voice was small, almost afraid. He nodded, glancing around and noting that most of the crowd had gone home. He lead her outside, the terrace thankfully empty.

'Go on then, talk.' She inhaled deeply, finally looking up at him with sad eyes. 'Alex?' Tears slid down her cheeks, her shoulders shaking as she tried to control herself. 'Sweetheart, I'm really happy you're here. I mean, really bloody happy.' Her mouth twitched into a small smile, swallowing as she braced herself to speak.

'I'm happy I came tonight.' He sat down on the small bench, tugging her down next to him. 'I wasn't going to. I was going to just send you a quick text, tell you some crap about not being able to make it but to have a good night.' He wasn't looking at her, instead he was transfixed on their hands - gripping onto each other like a lifeline. 'I've been wanting to call you, to turn up on your doorstep and beg you to give us another chance. To give me another chance, really. But when I heard that you were seeing someone else...'

'I was... Didn't work out.' She gave a sad hum, brushing her thumb against his hand slowly. 'What about you? Last I heard you were, uh... Seeing someone.'

'Didn't work out. Relationship was pretty doomed from the start.' He nodded, understanding exactly what she meant. 'I couldn't stop thinking about where we went wrong. Well, where I went wrong.' He opened his mouth to argue, but she shook her head, continuing before he could get a word out. 'It was me, darling. I thought I was doing what was best for you - giving you a chance to have a family of your own, make something of yourself, without having me drag you down.' Shrugging, turned her head away from him, staring up at the night sky.

'Alex?' She made a noise, still not looking back at him. 'I sabotaged us. I wanted us to work so bad, I made things hard on you. I thought by pulling away I'd give you the space I thought you wanted. But you didn't want space, did you?' He watched her for a moment, a small shake of the head confirming his theory. 'I ended up being exactly like the other men who hurt you. I turned into someone I swore I never would, and if I could take it all back, I would. God, Alex... I would take it all back, if you could just give me the chance.' Finally she turned back to him, staring into his eyes. 'Sweetheart, you're all I want.'

'And you are all I want, darling.' He smiled brightly - the first time he'd really done so since the day he came home to find her gone. She leant in, her lips brushing against his softly. 'I love you, you idiot.'

'I love you too, you amazing woman.' Laughing, she rested her head against his shoulder, snuggling into his side. 'Just so you know, this is going to be pretty hard to top...'

'What is?' His arm snaked around her waist, face pressing into her curls.

'Birthday. This is officially the best one yet.' She felt his lips press against the top of her head, and she smiled contently, knowing that he was right. Finally, they had gotten something right.

Finally, they had realised what was obvious all along. They were meant to be.


End file.
